We start swaying again, and I take this opportunity to kiss her. I know I shouldn’t since I’m at work, but all thoughts of professionalism are out the door the moment our tongues touch. Now all I’m thinking about is pushing her up against the mirror and watching her face as I take her from behind. She has awoken so many fantasies that I feel like a pervert trying to get them all done before she leaves. The last thing I want is for our relationship, or whatever this is, to be based solely on sex. I want to know her. I want to be her friend. I want to be her lover and confidant, even if it means that once this week is over, we’re only friends. I can be her shoulder to cry on or the person she needs to vent to at the end of the night.
“Excuse me, Xander?”
I startle at the sound of my name and pull away from Yvie mid-kiss. I look over my shoulder and find Dana, the waitress from Whimsicality, standing in the doorway. My hands fall away from Yvie, and I turn to Dana.
“Hey, Dana, what’s up?”
Dana is usually all smiles when I see her, but not today. “We have an appointment. I can reschedule if you’re too busy.” She leans a little to the left to get a good look at Yvie. I look at the clock on the wall and nod.
“I’ll be right out. Go ahead and start on your warm-up.” Dana doesn’t respond, but takes a long look at me before walking away.
“She likes you,” Yvie says from behind me. When I turn around, she’s back at her mp3 player, and it looks like she’s scrolling through her music.
“I’m just her trainer. She works for Josie at the café.” I walk toward her needing to feel her against my skin, even if it’s just the palm of my hand.
Yvie doesn’t make eye contact and doesn’t respond to my touch. “Nonetheless, she wasn’t very happy to find you in a compromising position with another woman.”
I lift Yvie’s chin with my thumb and forefinger and make sure she’s looking at me. “It’s only compromising if we’re doing something wrong. We’re both adults, and the last time I checked we were both very consenting.” I lean forward and place a chaste kiss on her lips. “You practice. I’m going to go do what I do best,” I say as I slap her ass and walk away. She lets out a little yelp, but all I do is chuckle and leave the room.
I like that Yvie is jealous; it means she cares. I can’t read into her reaction though. It could be as simple as another woman interrupting her time with me. Deep down, I want it to be jealousy. I want her to question the feelings that I’m developing for her, even if she’s not on the same page. She should know that I like her, more than like her actually.
I help Yvie out of my car, appraising her short, sequined, red dress and heels that make her almost as tall as me. It’s a good thing her brother is here because I have a feeling I’ll be beating off guys with the tables and chairs. I feel a little underdressed compared to her. I’m only in a black button down and slacks. I started to change, but when she told me I looked hot, I didn’t want to disappoint her.
We walk hand in hand into Ralph’s, tonight’s host for Liam and Josie’s anniversary party. It’s by invitation only, and the guest list is long. Liam uses this as a charity event and invites industry people. Tonight, Beaumont is the place to be. One would think that Liam would have a private party, but his marriage to Josie is a reason for him to celebrate from what I’ve been told.
Ralph’s has been transformed into a Hollywood hotspot. Strobe lights, mixed with other colored lighting create the atmosphere for tonight. On stage is the hottest DJ on the charts right now and the dance floor is full. As I look around, I realize that Yvie is used to this scene and is dressed perfectly for it. Maybe Hollywood is her next calling because I really can’t see her fitting in Beaumont for an extended period of time.
Yvie pulls me onto the dance floor, even though I told her that slow dancing was my forte. I’m a white boy with no rhythm and my date is a ballet dancer with a body that doesn’t stop. She’s going to get my ass kicked tonight, guaranteed. Heads turn and eyes follow as we weave through the dancing bodies. When we stop, she turns quickly and places my hands on her hips. I look around, checking to see what other guys are doing. They’re sort of bobbing up and down, and of course the band has all the moves to get the ladies’ attention.
Yvie doesn’t want me to dance though as she rubs her ass hard against my groin. I groan, thankful that the loud music drowns out my weakness, and grip her hips a bit tighter. She moves, letting the music dictate what her body is doing. Her hands slide up and down my legs as she gyrates against me. She swivels her hips repeatedly until I have no choice but to follow her motions. It’s an erotic display of affection with clothes on and I finally understand why guys do this. It gets you in the mood. Not that I need any help with that lately.
I’m afraid to let go for fear she’ll move away from me. I loosen my grip, giving her a bit more freedom to maneuver against me. I tear my eyes from her briefly to see others watching, and I’m not sure if I should be enjoying this or not. By the looks on the other guys’ faces, I should be. I’m starting to think each day with her is another fantasy come true, except this wasn’t a fantasy… until now.
Her head falls back onto my shoulder and I press my mouth against the base of her neck, quickly working my way up to her ear. “You’re making me hard.”
She chuckles, knowing damn well that she’s turning me on. Yvie continues what she’s doing until the song is over. When she starts to walk away, I grab her and pull her to me. There is no way I can let her leave me just yet, not without a cover.
We stagger, meaning I walk awkwardly behind her thinking about everything from playing basketball to weight lifting. Except neither of those is doing me any good because I can picture Yvie in a cheerleading outfit, kicking her leg high up in the air and the weight bench… well I’ll never look at another one of those the same again. Yvie somehow finds our friends and family over the mass of people. They look at us, some of them skeptical, and I avoid their gazes. I don’t want to hear questions that I don’t have answers for. Not tonight at least.
“You two look like you were having a good time out there,” Harrison says before lifting his half-filled glass to his lips, never breaking eye contact. I can’t tell if he’s being serious or what.
“I knew you were tapping that arse,” Jimmy laughs, earning a slap from Jenna. I shake my head and sit down, opposite Yvie.
“Where’s Liam?” I direct my question toward Josie, who is looking around. She finally shrugs.
“He’s working, I guess.”
I look at Harrison and Jimmy, who aren’t saying anything.
“So, are you guys a couple?” Katelyn asks, her voice full of happiness.
I open my mouth to answer, but Yvie beats me to it. “We’re just friends.”
Ouch. Even though I’ve said it myself many times in my head, hearing her say it out loud hurts a lot worse than I imagined.
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I want to take them back. I don’t regret them because we’re not a couple, but I didn’t mean them the way it sounds. I’m somewhat thankful for the muted light drowning out what I’m sure are awkward looks in my direction. I can’t look at Xander because I’m afraid of what I might see. With the amount of time we’ve spent together I know more of his expressions. He’s either happy that I confirmed that we’re only friends, albeit with benefits at the moment, or he’s upset because he wants more. That’s the vibe I got from him when he picked me up at the airport. I ignored the feeling though because I don’t want to make everything awkward between us. I want to have fun and enjoy my self-imposed vacation. And as selfish as it sounds, I want to have fun with Xander. Adding unneeded pressure of what happens next will only dampen our time together. There has to be a time to discuss where each of us stands with what’s going on. For all I know he doesn’t want anything serious, and yes the obvious step is to ask, but I’m afraid of rejection. I also have to acknowledge that a part of me is hiding behind the fun we are having so that I don’t have to make a decision as to what we are right now.
The waitress stops at our table and takes our orders. I look around the bar and marvel at all the people here to celebrate Liam and Josie’s anniversary. I glance at Josie and have a bit of sympathy for her. Everyone is at the table except for Liam. Her eyes are focused on the beer bottle in front of her and she’s not paying attention to anything going on around her. I turn back to the crowd and look for Liam. There are hundreds of people here, and while they’re industry professionals, his wife should be by his side.